Differential treatment of color component images



Nov. 5, 1935. f L. D. MANNEs E-r AL l l 2,019,718

DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF COLOR COMPONENT IMAGES v Filed Deo. 3. 1932 Tzzmgmed suck as blzzegz'eeusal r l f l l x l l 4 gwnow:

lo *A te);

Patented Nov. 5, l l

DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF COLOR COMPONENT IMAGES Leopold D.'Mannes and Ileopold Godowsky, Jr., Rochester, N. Y.

Application December 3, 1932, Serial No. 645,514

12 Claims.

vThis application relates to color photography and more particularly to a process involving (iirst) the formation of two or more silver colorcomponent images indifferent strata coated one upon another to constitute a substantially unitary element, (second) the bleaching or toning of the Vuppermost image or' images only, leaving lower images or image unalected and (third) the further treatment of the several images thus differentiated. ,f

` The present application relates to the. second of the three steps above mentioned, that'is, the differential bleaching processing or toning of two silver images carried in different strata of a substantially unitary layer. This is accomplished by applying to the element a bleaching bath which attacks the silver images and, when the upper image is substantially completely bleached or toned and before the lower one is substantially attacked, applying to the element a bath which stops vthe process at once at that point.

.One forni, described but not claimed in our prior Patent Number 1,997,493', issued April 9,

1935, of which this application is a continuation in part, comprises'submitting a layer containing two silver color-component images to a bluegreen toning solution suchas a' known ferrievanadium solution and the action of this solution is permitted to continue until .the upper image has .been completely colored when the element is removed from the toning solution and immersedin a weak hypo solution which acts .as a stop bath, renders the image transparent and removes the residue of ferricyanide which may have been. deposited in the film. We have lfound that this toning process permits of minute regulation and that ample time is aiorded to remove and wash the lm after the coloring of the upper image is completed and before the co1- oring of the lower image takes place. A suitable toning bath is the following:

Formula A l Ferrie chloride 1 gm.

Oxalic acid 6 gms. Vanadium chloride 2 gms. Nitric acid 5 gms. Water 200 ccs.

Formula B .Potassium ferricyanide k5 gms. Water 200 ccs.

The bath of Formula B is to be added to that of Formula A. Other suitable baths are given in (ci. :a5-ss) the Fox patents, 1,166,121, 1,166,122 and 1,207,527. A suitable stop bath is a 3 per cent solution of sodium thiosulfate.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing which is applicable to the various processes described and inv which Fig. l indicates a section of lm with similar images in two layers prior to treatment, and Fig. 2 shows the same element .after the controlled treatment.

In Fig. 1 is shown' a support l having a gel- 10 atine layer consisting of two strata 2 and 3 containing respectively images il and 5 of similar composition.-y In Fig. 2, the image in stratum 2 has been converted into an image 6 of alteredcomposition while the image 5 in the lower. 35 stratum 3 remains intact and may be further treated by processes, not a part of the present invention disclosed in said application.

Other embodiments involve the use' of a bleaching (oxidizing) bath which is lallowed to pene- 20 trate a limited distance into `the gelatine emulsion and arresting the further action by immediate immersion of the lm in a reducing bath. Examples are the following:

followed by sodiumvbisulilte as in Example A. This last named bath` converts the upper image a5 into silver iodide having the lower silver image The silverl image may then be converted into silver ferrocyanide by immersion of the .element in a solution of potassium ferrocyanide' and this in turn may be converted by 5o the use of ferrous chloride into an image of ferrie-ferrocyanide (Turnbulls blue) while a dye such as rosaniline (fuchsin) may be mor- `dantedto the upper silver iodide image.

s. fr be es It is obvious that the use of a stop bath i used with any processing step such as stopping the action of an alkaline developer with an acid stop bath, thus developing only the upper ofthe two latentl images in different strata of a sensitive layer.

It is to be noted that, of the four processes herein described, two invlove a stop bath which penetrates the photographic layer more rapidly than the processing bath which it terminates.

These are, rst, the one in which a hypo bath follows a ferric-vanadium solution and, second, the formulae given under Example B.

' What we,claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

vl. The method of. treating diierentially two photographic in'iages of similar structure lying in different strata of the same photographic' layer that comprises submitting said layer to a photographic bath capable of acting on the images until the outermost image is substantially completely transformed and the inner image is not substantially affected, then removing the layer from the bath and at once submitting it to a stop bath thatimmediately stops the action of the rst bath.

2. The method of treating differentially two photographicsilver images representing .two color components and lying in diiierent strata of a single photographic layer that comprises submitting said layer to a bath capable of transforming silver into a silver salt, until. the upper image only is transformed and then at once submitting the layer to a bath that immediately stops the action of the first bath.

3. The method of treating differentially rtwo photographic strata lying directly one upon another upon the same side of a common support that comprises, submitting said layer to a photographic bath capable of acting'on the images until the outermost image is substantially completely transformed and the inner image is not substantially affected, then removing the layer from the bath and at once submitting it to a stop bath that immediately stops the actionvof the rst bath.

4. The method of treating differentially twol photographic strata lying directly one upon another upon the same side of av common support that comprises submitting said layer to a bath capable of'transforming silver into a silver salt, until the upper image only is transformed and then at once submitting the layer to a bath that immediately stops the action of the first bath.

5. 'I'he method of treating diiferentially two photographic images of similar structure in different strata lying on the same side of a common support and of similar physical characteristics as to their permeability to photographic baths which comprises submitting the element including said support and layers to a photographic bath capable of acting on the images until the outermost image is substantially affected, then removing the element from the bath and at once submitting it to a stop bath that stops the action of the r'st bath.

6. The method of treating differentially two photographic strata lying directly one upon the other and of similar physical characteristics as to their permeability to photographic baths and comprising submitting said layer to a bath capable of. transforming silver into a silver salt, until the upper image only is transformed and then at once submitting the layer to a bath that stops the action of the rst bath.

7. The method of diierentially treating images superposed in different depths of an emulsion, which comprises bathing the emulsion in a strong solution of iodine until a complete image is bleached, and in then quickly interrupting the bleaching action by bathing the emulsion in a solution of bisuliite.

8. The method of differentially treating images superposed in different depths of an emulsion, which comprises subjecting the emulsion tothe 'action of a substance having a certain speed cf penetration and interrupting said action upon reaching the desired depth by subjecting the emulsion to the chemical action of a substance having a speed of penetration greater than that of said rst substance and capable of promptly and completely stopping the chemical action of said first substance.

9. The method'of differentially treating images superposed in different depths of an emulsion, which comprises bathing theV emulsion in a bleaching solution having a certain speed of penetration until a region intermediate successive images is reached and interrupting the action of said solution by bathing the emulsion in a bath having a speed of penetration greater than that of said bleaching solution and capable of promptly and completely stopping the chemical action of said bleaching solution..

10. The method of differentially treating im-l ages superposed in different depths of an emulsion, which comprises treating the emulsion in a substance adapted to oxidize said images and interrupting the oxidizing action upon reaching a region intermediate successive images by treating the emulsion with a substance adapted promptly and completely to inactivate said oxidizing substance and having a greater speed of penetration than said oxidizing substance.

11. 'Ihe method of differentially treating images superposed in different Adepths of an emulsion, which comprises treating the emulsion with a substance adaptedjto oxidize the emulsion and interrupting said oxidization upon reaching a certaindepth of the emulsion by subjectingithe yemulsion to the chemical action of a reducing 

